Who has hummingbirds?

Kathy in VA · Mon Sep 19, 2011 7:12 am

Veronica, awesome photos of your Rufous! Thanks for sharing! I have never seen any species here except the Ruby-throated.

Gobbler T, glad you are getting more hummer traffic! They are a blast to watch. My hummers drink out of my feeders when I hold the feeders in my hands, too...and they drink right out of the palm of my hand, too...that's what that tiny picture is, under my name, although it's very hard to figure out--2 hummers drinking. It is so much fun to feel their tongues tickle your hand and feel their tiny claws on your skin! Sometimes they actually land on my hand or fingertips and perch there!

Veronica G · Mon Sep 19, 2011 7:25 am

Kathy,

How long do you have to sit there to get the hummers to eat out of your hand? I tried it yesterday but lost patience. It just got too hard to sit still while the ants and gnats ate me alive! I thought about removing the feeder I was sitting near to force them to me, but I felt kinda bad doing that. I must have well over 50 hummingbirds in my yard! They need to eat!

We have buff bellied and black chinned hummingbirds year round, and then we have about a gazillion ruby throats during migration! I feel bad for our resident buff bellies. They must be wondering what the heck is going on! I see them trying to chase of the "intruders" all the time. It just doesn't work out for them when its 50 to 1!!

Veronica

Kathy in VA · Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:01 am

The first time I tried it, it took 20 minutes. Now it only takes 10 or 20 seconds each spring!
But I didn't start by sitting out in the yard. And I took down all other feeders on my property. I have never had any success getting them to come to my hand if they had any other "options" to drink. I don't think they will die if you follow the steps and keep your hand-feeding sessions short, and then put all your feeders back out. Soon you can have hummers swirling around your hand like Linda showed us swirling around her feeders! I never get that many, but I am not on a migration pathway and never get as many hummers as you are having now. I am frequently asked how I trained the hummingbirds to drink from my hand, so I wrote up the instructions and how to make the "tools." Would you like me to share my "secrets"?!

Veronica G · Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:46 am

Kathy,

Yes, please share your secrets!!!

Veronica

Linda Reynolds · Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:34 pm

Veronica, thank you so very, very much for posting those BEAUTIFUL photos of your Rufous. We only see ruby-throats in our neck of the woods, but I always keep my eyes open hoping to see one of the rare Rufous that have been reported *out of normal range*. Your photos are absolutely wonderful.

I like your feeders. They appear to be larger and perhaps hold more nectar than the *usual* varieties. Can you tell us the name of them?

Kathy, I would also love to hear about your methods of conditioning the hummers to feed out of your hand. What a thrill that must be.........

Kathy in VA · Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:41 pm

Yes, it is very exciting to do it! I have been working on revising the instructions and re-sizing some photographs, in case anybody wanted to see them, and it looks like folks are interested! I will try to get a reply posted as soon as I can.

Kathy in VA · Mon Sep 19, 2011 3:51 pm

Well, the things I've learned about hand-feeding hummingbirds aren’t really secrets. Years ago, someone showed me a picture of a lady hand-feeding a hummingbird, and I instantly said, “I HAVE to do that!” So I started working on figuring out how. I’ve learned a lot from seeing other people’s ideas and pictures, and trying different things, trial and error. I’ve never bought any of the hand-feeding books or videos sold on the web, and I’m not trying to steal anybody’s ideas or take away any business from those who sell hand-feeding resources, and I don't claim to have come up with every idea, myself. I just like to share what I've learned, in order to help other people experience the little pleasures in life that give me enjoyment! (I am easily entertained!)

For those of you who are trying this now, with large numbers of migrating hummers present, you can speed up the "waiting" times, to let them get a little hungry but not denying them any drinking opportunity for too long. And keep the sessions short, since very few hummers will actually get to drink from a single tube or hand. You can do sessions throughout the day, anytime lots of birds are feeding, and with large numbers of birds, the training should go much faster and your time spent just sitting there waiting for them to come, should be shorter.

It's a lengthy explanation, but I'll give lots of detail to minimize questions and confusion. Others may have different techniques, but here is what worked for me:

TRAINING HUMMINGBIRDS TO DRINK FROM YOUR HAND

I’m sure there are lots of ways to train hummingbirds to drink from your hand, but this method worked for me and it went fairly quickly and involved minimal effort and expense.

Start your training by hanging lots of hummingbird feeders in your yard early in the season to attract numerous hummingbirds. The more feeders I put out, the more hummingbirds I seem to attract. Watch this migration map to see when hummers are nearing your location: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html and be sure your feeders are out when they first arrive. But be sure to bring feeders inside or devise a way to warm them if night-time temperatures will go below freezing, so feeders won’t crack. Place feeders out in open areas for maximum visibility in attracting hummers flying over. Place at least one feeder on or near a window (that you can open from the inside to refill the feeder, if it’s not on ground-level), and at a place where you can sit in a chair inside of the window to hand-feed them (not over your kitchen sink.) Let the hummers get accustomed to having a steady food supply from that location. Although you can sit out in your yard, you will have to sit and wait longer for the birds to get brave enough to fly up to you than if you begin training with most of your body hidden inside your house.

Make a hummer-hand-feeder ahead of time, so you’ll have it ready for training: Find a clear tube to hold the “nectar” (same solution as home-made feeder sugar solution: 1 part sugar to 4 parts water.) Use a clear glass test tube, a plastic water-tube from a florist or flower arrangement (without the rubber cap), a plastic coin tube, or a Tic Tac Mints container, film canister, or empty medicine bottle. Use a clear tube if you want to see their tongues lapping up the nectar—13 licks per second! Find a piece of red plastic (rigid yet flexible, like the lid from a coffee can, raisin canister, or potato salad tub.) Cut it into the shape of a flower, about 3” across (if you lack art skills, do a Google Images Search on “flower cut-out” to find a template.) Scuff the top surface with coarse sandpaper to make it rough, and bend up the ends of the flower petals (sometimes the hummers like to land on them, and they can’t get a grip if they are slick and flat.) Punch a hole in the center of the flower using a paper hole-punch and push a yellow Perky-Pet hummingbird replacement Feeder Flower into it (the flat little flower with a hole in it where the hummers drink from.) Even though the yellow flower (port) in the center of the red flower may tend to attract bees, it helps hummers figure out where to insert their beaks; I’ve watched them poke at the red plastic flower petals or poke their beaks underneath the petals—so I give them lots of hints! (You can probably stop using the yellow flower once your birds are trained.) Tape the fake flower onto the top of the nectar tube, from the underside, attaching it with tape to the side of the tube, only on one side, making a hinge so the flower can be tilted up off the tube to refill the nectar. I haven’t tried it, but you may be able to use a store-bought silk flower, removing the stem and center parts of the flower, poking it down into the rubber cap of a floral tube, as long as there is enough space for the hummer to insert its beak down into the nectar tube.

Once you are seeing lots of hummers in your yard, do your first training session very early in the morning on a warm, sunny day. Nuisance insects aren’t quite as bad early in the morning. Hummingbird activity is high near dusk, too, but since you don’t know how long it will take for that first hummingbird to get brave enough, it’s better to start in the morning, so it won’t get dark on you (when all the hummers will go to bed) just when the first bird finally comes to your hand to drink—that bird will be your most valuable teacher for the other hummingbirds to see and follow.

Take down all the feeders in your yard except the window feeder at your training window. Bring the feeders inside, along with anything else red (ant moats, gas cans, etc.); or set them down into a covered, opaque plastic tub outside, so ants won’t get into the feeders and so the extra red color won’t distract the hummers. Wait about 15 minutes, letting all the hummers drink from that one window feeder only, to focus their attention on that spot. Then bring that feeder inside. Wait about 10 minutes to let the hummingbirds get hungry, pull up a chair close to the window and lay a thick towel on the window sill to cushion your arm. For the safety and health of hummingbirds, thoroughly wash your hands last thing before beginning the actual hand-feeding (after all equipment is set up), especially when feeding from the palm of your hand; some bacteria we carry on our hands can cause hummingbirds to become sick if ingested by them. And for your own safety, thoroughly wash your own hands after having any contact with birds. Wrap your arm and hand in a red t-shirt to hide your skin and provide added red-color-attraction, and sit at that window with your hand sticking out the opened window, holding that hummingbird feeder in your hand (the same feeder style they are used to seeing there.) Sit very still and wait for them to come to drink. Since all your other feeders have been removed, the birds must come to your hand if they are going to be rewarded with getting anything to drink. Hummers should eventually start drinking from your hand! It is fun to feel the breeze from their beating wings blowing against your hand. Once the other hummers see one hummer drinking from you, they catch on quickly, and others will follow.

When they get used to landing on the feeder perches and drinking from that feeder in your hand, bring that feeder inside and replace it with your little hummer-hand-feeder. Fill the tube with “nectar” using a medicine dropper. Wrap your arm/hand with the red t-shirt and hold your little hand-feeder out the window until they come to drink. Refill the nectar in the tube whenever the level drops below where their tongue can reach it. Once they are comfortable drinking from it, remove the red shirt from your arm so they can see your skin. You can do several feeding sessions on consecutive days using this feeder, or you can try rushing the steps and just might be able to do all the steps in succession on one day if there are lots of hummers and if they are catching on quickly. Some birds are aggressive and some are timid; if you aren’t having much success, drop back and repeat the last step until they are readily accepting it. Then you can train them to drink out of the palm of your hand!...

Cut out a smaller red circle or flower (1 1/4”) and again punch a hole in the center and press a yellow Feeder Flower port into it. Wash your hands. Hold your hand so a depression is formed in the palm of your hand and use a medicine dropper to dribble a small amount of nectar into your palm. Lay the small red plastic flower on top of the nectar puddle and stick your hand out the window. If the nectar starts to run out the cracks of your hand or between your fingers) rinse off your whole hand and start over again, or the liquid will just keep draining out and dripping off the back of your hand, once it starts. (You can practice dripping water into your hand over the sink, to see what hand position forms the nicest cup to contain the liquid; keep your fingers extended out if possible, so they do not block the hummers’ view of the red flower, and relax your hand rather than scrunching it up, because that makes the cracks get deeper and the nectar seeps out!) Check often to make sure there is nectar in the “well;” it disappears quickly with just a few hummer visits. Palm-feeding is a bit more fatiguing and difficult for children than tube-feeding, since it is hard to keep the nectar from running out of your hand—but it is more exciting!

As with training a dog or any animal, always start a new training session by reminding the hummers what they are supposed to do, using the most-recently used technique they were familiar with—don’t try out the next step until you have re-done the last procedure you used yesterday, until they are again comfortable with it; then introduce the next (new) step.

It is so exciting to feel the tickle of their little tongues licking your hand, and feel their tiny toes clinging to you when they land on your hand or fingers! The first time I started training them to drink from my hand, it didn’t occur to me to start by using a real hummingbird feeder first, which would have made things go faster. I just used the tube with a red flower and yellow port on it. I sat there for 20 minutes before one hummer finally got brave and came close enough to drink. Then lots of them came! And the same hummers come back to my yard from year to year, and they “know the drill”—this year it only took 20 SECONDS!

Once your birds are used to feeding from your hand thru the window, you can go outside to train them to drink while your whole body is in view. Remove all feeders except one out in the yard, where you are going to hand-feed. Set a chair under that feeder. Go inside and let them get used to seeing the chair and drinking only from that feeder for 15 minutes or so, and put on a red long-sleeved t-shirt or carry out a red blanket to throw around your shoulders. Then stand beside the feeder and let them get used to coming to the feeder with you standing next to it. Cup your hands around the feeder, laying your fingers up beside the perches, so they will sit on your fingers. Then remove the feeder from its hanging hook and sit in the chair, holding that feeder in your hands. Slowly work up to feeding them with the hand-tube-feeder (by putting the big feeder indoors) and then to feeding them in your palm, and they will be swirling, buzzing, and squeaking around you from all directions! Hummingbird haven!

Some folks use a red plastic soda bottle cap or milk jug cap in their palm, but my hummers didn’t understand that as well. Although it holds the liquid better, you won’t be able to feel the licking of their tongues. (My hummers also didn’t understand how to drink clear nectar from the palm of my hand when I removed the red and yellow flower—even though they had just been drinking nectar from that spot only seconds before. Some people put red food coloring in the nectar but using red dye is controversial, and I find it unpleasant to see (or photograph) what looks like red “blood” running down my hands! So I just make it simple for them and me, and give them their favorite—clear nectar underneath red plastic with a yellow center hole—it wastes less time.)

Keep your hummer feeders very clean and never let them sit empty, and change the nectar every couple days (when it becomes cloudy) to keep them coming back for more. Frequently “remind” your hummers how to hand-feed, and your regular birds will get used to drinking from your hand and will fly right up to your hand. However, the “new” fall migrating hummers may not “get it” and it may be like starting the training all over again. If you have the time to hand-feed often, the newly arriving migrants can see the old hats doing it, and you’ll train lots of birds quickly!

(If this training technique doesn’t work for you, you can get your money back!!!)

I love inviting folks over to my house to hand-feed the hummingbirds. Kids (and adults!) enjoy doing it here and love learning how to teach hummers in their own yards to drink from their hands. It helps us feel closer to nature and gives an opportunity to experience the beauty of God’s wonderful creation, up-close and personal!
Kathy Laine
Scottsburg, VA

Linda Reynolds · Mon Sep 19, 2011 4:16 pm

FABULOUS information. Kathy, your detailed description and photos makes this process sound so easy.

I have had one perch on my hand while replacing the window feeder tray, but your method provides an even more personal experience. I love it when they get close enough that you can feel the wind beneath their wings. They are such wonderful little creatures.

Thank you so very much for taking the time to compose and post this very wonderful information. Your information is wonderful and so appreciated by members of this community.

Kudos to you, for all that you do..........

Kathy in VA · Tue Sep 20, 2011 7:06 am

Linda, I'm glad you liked the information. Although it sounds complicated and involved, once you get the "tools" made, and think about the concepts of training, it really is easy and just takes a little patience. It's kind of like fishing for hummingbirds! Thanks for all the encouragement you have given me thru the Forum and through our other email exchanges!

To Everybody, wildlife rehabilitator Penny Halstead very wisely pointed out to me (kindly, thru a private email) that our hands carry bacteria that can sicken hummingbirds if ingested, so we need to make sure we thoroughly wash our hands before hand-feeding. Thanks, Penny! So it is very important that we wash up just before starting to feed, especially when we are feeding directly from our palm. I regret that I had never thought of that, and also that I failed to include it in my instructions. I have edited my post to include that information, and just wanted to call it to everyone's attention. And I've also added a reminder for us to wash our hands after any contact with birds, for our own health's safety. Thanks, and if any of you try hand-feeding and are successful, let us know! Happy Hummingbirding!

Veronica G · Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:32 pm

Thank you Kathy for your secrets! Wow, you sure put a lot of effort into it. I'm sure it's worth it though! I hope I can try out your methods before the migration ends.

Linda: I sent you a PM

Veronica

Kathy in VA · Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:54 pm

After writing out the technique, it seems like a lot of work to hand-feed, but it really isn't hard. I'm a detail person, and I LOVE to know all the details before embarking on something, and I love to know how to save the most time, requiring the least amount of patience on my part, of just sitting around, waiting. I could have just summarized it real short, but then I'd get asked dozens of questions like, "Why do you do _____?," or Do you have to do________?" I'd rather give all the details I can think of that anyone might want to know, so folks don't have to wonder about so many aspects or need to ask lots of questions to understand it. The procedure looks overwhelming when typed out, but once you get your tools made and think about the concepts of training, it really isn't difficult. Let me know how it works for you, and if there's anything unclear or that you think could use revising! I'm open to suggestions for improvements.

I was afraid the photo of the tube feeder might not clearly show how to make/attach the flower, but since it is hard to duplicate two hummers drinking from it at the same time, I just HAD to use that photo! But I can take another photo of just the flower/tube from a different angle if the instructions don't make sense.

Al Denton · Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:39 pm

Down from using 8 feeders to only 2 and still getting some....and occasional squabble too

Dave Reynolds · Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:20 pm

Hummers are still here in South Eastern Ohio... Im starting to wonder just when they will start to move South. We just keep filling the feeders and they are here every morning and evening.

Dave in Little Hocking, Ohio

Scott D.- La · Thu Sep 22, 2011 6:25 am

There is no doubt that Hummer's are attracted to red and yellow. Most Sevin bottles are red with yellow top's in the liquid form. I had a bottle of liquid Sevin outside one day and a Hummer flew right up to it and tried to feed out of it. I stopped him immediately and no harm was done. I did learn a lesson on having those Sevin bottles outside, so I am careful to bring them in at all times. I do not add dye but do keep red liquid in 2 feeder's and one with clear. I do this using just a little Tropical Punch Koolaid which my kids consume by the gallon's. It only takes a little to get the red tint and I have noticed a preference for the red liquid although, when they are here in masse like they are now, they drain all 3 feeder's dry everyday.

ccarlin · Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:11 am

OVER THE WEEKEND OUR NUMBER OF HUMMINGBIRDS DROPPED DOWN TO ABOUT 25 BUT YESTERDAY AFTERNOON THE NUMBERS JUMPED BACK UP OVER 50 AGAIN.I HAD TO FILL MY FEEDERS UP TWICE WITHIN 4 HOURS .I FILLED THEM BACK UP THIS MORNING AND THEY ARE ALREADY HALF EMPTY. THIS IS OUR BEST YEAR EVER FOR HUMMINGBIRDS. I HOPE IT'S LIKE THIS EVERY YEAR. THEY ARE SO FUN TO WATCH.

Louise Chambers · Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:21 am

Oodles more here in Corpus, too, after a brief dip in numbers. And still lots of orioles. We are sure enjoying them. Still seeing some adult male rubythroats.

Our weekend location is inland a bit, and although we had most hummers ever there two weekends ago, we had only a few last weekend. But maybe that's because we could not refill the feeders after Sunday, and they were surely empty by Sunday evening or Mon AM.

Bulldog1 · Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:12 pm

on Hummingbirds. Definitely worth the effort to find and watch. AMAZING video. What I found interesting was that hummers tend to nest around hawk and other raptor nests that protect the hummers from predators like squirrels and other birds.

Kathy in VA · Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:17 am

Bulldog, thanks for letting us know that PBS "Nature" show is running now. I have seen "Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air" when it has been aired in the past...absolutely incredible! The same show will run at different times on different days, for a little while--a few days or a week at a time.
To see when it is on in your area, go here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/ and click on Hummingbirds, then SCHEDULE at the top. On the Hummingbirds page, there is more info. about the series, and some video clips, including Behind the Scenes filming clips, listed on the right side of the page. If you are patient enough in waiting for it to load, you can even watch the Full Episode online. Watching the show is well worth it...the photography and videotaping are spectacular!

Veronica G · Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:53 am

I was trying to eat dinner while watching the show. Needless to say, my dinner got cold. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen! Those videos were amazing! I never knew hummingbirds could catch insects in flight! I guess I always just pictured them licking them off flowers or feeders while eating. And that's pretty smart of them to build their nests near raptors' nests to keep the predators away.

Veronica

ToyinPA · Fri Sep 30, 2011 10:23 am

We still have humming birds passing thru here in central PA. With all the pouring rain & massive floods we've had over the last several weeks I'm surprized to see any. I saw one yesterday morning & my husband saw one late after noon.

The temps have fallen since yesterday tho. I filled my 2 feeders, so any moving thru will have food.

Toy in PA